Local group continues fundraising to open clinic
Pet Friends, a local nonprofit rescue group for cats and dogs,
is midway through a project that will create a permanent low-cost
spay and neuter clinic in San Benito County.
”
Pet Friends has been wanting to do this for some time,
”
said Jack Scutchall, the chairman of the spay and neuter
committee and vice president of Pet Friends.
”
San Benito County has so many over-run cats and abandoned
animals, people leaving behind dogs, that we had to do
something.
”
Local group continues fundraising to open clinic
Pet Friends, a local nonprofit rescue group for cats and dogs, is midway through a project that will create a permanent low-cost spay and neuter clinic in San Benito County.
“Pet Friends has been wanting to do this for some time,” said Jack Scutchall, the chairman of the spay and neuter committee and vice president of Pet Friends. “San Benito County has so many over-run cats and abandoned animals, people leaving behind dogs, that we had to do something.”
So far, the group has raised $20,000 toward the $50,000 they estimate will be needed to get the spay and neuter clinic running. The group launched the campaign in June, with the goal of opening it in 12 months.
The group is working on renovating facilities at its Buena Vista Road site for a permanent spay and neuter clinic.
“We will be interfacing with different vet schools to get senior vet students to volunteer to come down under the supervision of a licensed vet,” Scutchall said.
Currently, Pet Friends gives out vouchers that provide a discount to pet owners to get their animals spayed or neutered at local veterinarian clinics. Scutchall said the spay and neuter clinic will likely triple the number of pets it can provide with discounted spay or neuter treatments. The discount vouchers bring the cost for spaying or neutering a dog to below $75 and below $40 for cats.
“The voucher program is very expensive,” Scutchall said, since Pet Friends pays for each voucher it gives out. “We can cap our cost on equipment and capitalize over a long time since we are a nonprofit. It will be open to anyone who wants to bring their animals, including ferals.”
One of the challenges to the fundraising has been that Pet Friends has an annual operating budget of $60,000, so the money for the clinic requires that the volunteers go above and beyond in fundraising. Scutchall has meetings planned with other local nonprofits in the coming weeks to see if they can coordinate some fundraisers.
“It’s hard when you’ve always got your hand out, but the animals are all so worth it,” he said. “They are such sweet babies.”
In the last month, Pet Friends has taken in 32 surrenders and given out 57 vouchers. Pet Friends takes in animals from the Hollister Animal Shelter and places them in foster care or keeps them at their Buena Vista Road site. Other local rescue groups, such as All Creatures Great and Small and Bad Dawg Rescue, also work to remove animals from the shelter to nonprofit shelters or foster care.
Pet Friends adopted out five dogs and 13 cats last month. The facility can house up to 12 dogs and 50 cats. They are currently renovating an indoor cat room that will be used for adoptions, set to open in November.
To get the spay and neuter clinic up, the group needs to purchase equipment that will allow the procedures to be done in a safe and sterile environment. They are also working to get the proper licenses to allow the vets to administer medication during the procedures.
One other complication to the project is that the group had been consulting with a local veterinarian who has recently accepted a job in Seattle and will be moving soon.
“We are trying to find another vet to come and work on contacting local training schools that have seniors getting ready to graduate,” Scutchall said.
Scutchall said the schedule to get the clinic up by June 2010 is aggressive, but that it is an important need in the community. He and his wife have seen first hand the necessity through their volunteer work at Pet Friends.
His wife started out volunteering to walk dogs at the facility, and the couple agreed to foster a small kitten that another volunteer found in Sacramento. The kitten was set on the side of the road, and the volunteer brought her back to the facility.
“She was just too sweet and too young to put in those cages,” Scutchall said. “We have to isolate them to make sure they don’t have any diseases. But we took her home and that was the end of that. She’s now a family member.”
To volunteer or donate to Pet Friends in support of the spay and neuter clinic, or for general information, call 634-1191 or visit www.petfriends.org.
On average, communities in the United States spend approximately $8 per capita for animal shelters, handle on average 30 animals per 1,000 people and euthanize about 12.5 animals per 1,000 people
Information courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States
